The Rose

I cut some roses today, and that always makes me smile. The rose is such a perfect example of complexity and simplicity. The rose is always the same but somehow always different. For me the rose always draws me in to its presence. I so love the smell. I can’t walk away.


The smell of a rose inspires so many things. It is at its core, the symbol of love. Roses are always included in the celebration of love. I can’t even think of Valentine’s Day without thinking of a bouquet of a dozen red roses. I can’t even imagine a florist shop without several dozen roses in the cooler ready to be arranged in a special way for some special woman.

This makes me think of the difference in the roles of men and women. Isn’t it the man that generally presents the bouquet of roses to the women? And isn’t it a woman that generally arranges the bouquet to sell to the man to present to the woman? What an awesome picture that paints in my mind.

The picture is of the dance between a man and a woman in love. The man wants to honor the woman’s beauty by presenting her with something as beautiful as a rose. It is generally not just one rose but many to show his expression of the vastness of her beauty and of his love for her, but he depends on a woman to interpret that love so that the arrangement can perfectly express his love for the woman that he will give the flowers to as a gift.

Isn’t this the dance of life? Isn’t this what dance is? I can dance alone, but it is at its best when done with Jeff. I need is presence to fully accept the movement of the music. Something is missing if I don’t allow myself to be part of his movement.

I need every other person in my life to fully express myself. I need the dance and the connection to others and to nature to be fully complete. I need to smile. I need to understand the complexity and simplicity of the moment in order to move to the next moment. I can’t truly be in that moment without the love that I have with Jeff.

Have I forgotten that this blog is about a rose? Now that I think of it, I have not. Life cannot be without the smells, beauty and thorns of the life which is exactly like a rose. Roses aren’t beautiful unless the smell draws you into the beauty, and the rose isn’t perfect unless the thorns protect and enhance that beauty. I feel that way too. I am who I am through the presence of me that draws others in, but it is the beauty that is developed through the thorns of my life that make me complete and that keep me humble and truly a good person that is connected to all of the people in my circle and beyond.

Thank you God for the roses in my backyard and for the people in my life that are all such individual, beautiful roses that continue to draw me in to know that person and for the appreciation of each and every petal and thorn that every one of us accepts in our lives.

Talk to you again soon,

Eileen